WTI tumbles nearly four percent as markets go risk-off after holidays
- Crude dumps as production looks to be climbing and trade war fears have been left to run amok.
- Russia is stepping outside of OPEC's mandates and increasing their production output despite agreeing to cut.
Crude oil stumbled in Monday's action and WTI fell almost four percent from the day's high, trading near 62.75 per barrel heading into the overnight session.
The Saudis are said to be cutting the prices of oil for their Asia customers, contributing to the drop, while export data shows that despite the OPEC-led production cuts, Russia's output of crude has continued to increase, knocking support out from under oil prices.
The continuous ramp-up of a trade war between the US and China proved to be more than oil traders could weather, and the commodity is declining following China's decision to immediately impose tariffs on over a hundred American-made products from pork to fruit products. The possibility of an all-out trade war between the two countries continues to loom over market risk appetite, and WTI crude oil couldn't stand up to the pressure.
WTI Levels to watch
Today's rapid decline sees WTI crude challenging a swing high from the first week of March at 62.65, with firmer support at the same period's lows of 60.10, while a bullish correction from this level will have to clear resistance at the 50.0 Fibo level near the 64.00 major level, with further resistance from the last high at 66.00.